2,000 killed in Yemen’s year of unrest

More than 2,000 people have been killed in a year of political turmoil that led to the resignation of Yemen’s president, the government disclosed yesterday. The figure is much higher than human rights groups estimated.

The government released its first casualty figures on a day when crowds of protesters were marking a year since a particularly bloody day, when dozens were killed.

Yemen’s ministry of human rights said the figure of at least 2,000 includes both unarmed protesters and military defectors, as well as more than 120 children. It said 22,000 people were wounded.

The government of Ali Abdullah Saleh, who quit as president last month after more than 30 years in power, never released casualty figures.

For nearly a year, armed men loyal to Saleh attacked protesters, while security forces did little to stop them.